By Edward Miller

Language is powerful, especially in malicious hands.

To “Make America Great Again” did more than allude to a mythical time of greatness begging restoration. To those listening between the lines it meant “Make America White Again.” No one missed the point.

Similarly, demanding “America First” woke up the echoes of fascism, cultural isolation and xenophobia. Not bad for only two words.

Then came “fake news” and “alternative facts.” And after Kellyanne Conway finished her tap dance around the flat-out lie about presidential wiretapping, “microwave” had taken on an ironic connotation.

For would-be autocrats the sequence is always the same: Tell an outrageous lie, demand that others refute what has no basis in fact to begin with, tell the lie again in an altered context, deflect any inquiry with yet another lie, and as a final defense, pretend the whole sequence was unintended or misrepresented. Repeat continuously.

Is it any wonder that Orwell’s “1984” is a best seller again? “Alice in Wonderland” will soon join the list.

Anything we can do to defend against this obsessive assault? Two ideas:

1. Watch your language. Use it as a cudgel of the truth. Don’t allow the insanely cruel attempts to impose an “Unaffordable Care Act” to be referred to as anything other than “Trumpcare.” Praise the journalists who stand up to the propagandists who smear the truth as “fake news.” Call “alternative facts” what they really are: Lies. What’s more, when explaining your outrage to all those congressmen and senators who won’t show up for town meetings, make your battle cry, “Millions will suffer, thousands will die.” That’s not hyperbole; it’s statistical certainty.

2. Watch Rachel Maddow. If her 9 p.m. slot on MSNBC isn’t convenient, seek out her broadcasts online.  As one of her show’s promos says, people can watch “through their television sets” and “microwaves that turn into cameras.” Too bad we can’t just accept that as funny.

* * *

P.S. Amir Sheik of Alpharetta, GA, is my new best friend. He’s the first person I ever registered to vote. One down, a couple of thousand to go.

FYI, The mantra is still GOYA: Get Off Your Ass. Remember, we can no longer be spectators; everyone must be a player.